Annual Management Report of Fund Performance

Transcription

1 Annual Management Report of Fund Performance (formerly, BMO Private Canadian Conservative Equity Portfolio) For the period ended December 31, 2017 This annual management report of fund performance contains financial highlights, but does not contain the complete annual financial statements of the Portfolio. If the annual financial statements of the Portfolio do not accompany the mailing of this report, you may obtain a copy of the annual financial statements at your request, and at no cost, by calling , by ing us at contact.centre@bmo.com, by writing to us at BMO Private Investment Counsel Inc., 1 First Canadian Place, 100 King St. W., 41st Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1A1 or by visiting our website at or SEDAR at You may also contact us using one of these methods to request a copy of the Portfolio s proxy voting policies and procedures, proxy voting disclosure record and/or quarterly portfolio disclosure. Management Discussion of Fund Performance BMO Private Investment Counsel Inc. ( BPIC or the Manager ), the manager and portfolio manager, is responsible for the management of the overall business, investments and operations of the BMO Private Portfolios and has engaged BMO Asset Management Inc. ( BMO AM Inc. or the sub-advisor ) as the sub-advisor of (the Portfolio ). Investment Objective and Strategies The Portfolio s investment objective is to provide longterm capital appreciation through investing primarily in equity securities of large Canadian issuers. To achieve the Portfolio s objectives, the sub-advisor primarily employs bottom-up security selection for its holdings that is based on quantitative and traditional fundamental analyses, including assessment of the company s projected earnings growth, quality of management, and identification of reasonable stock price valuations relative to other companies in the same industry. Risk No significant changes affecting the overall level of risk associated with investing in the Portfolio were made during the period. The risks of this Portfolio remain as discussed in the Portfolio s most recently filed simplified prospectus or its amendments. Results of Operations Over the 12-month period ended December 31, 2017, the Portfolio returned 13.07%, after expenses. The Portfolio s benchmark is the S&P/TSX Composite Index ( S&P/TSX ), which generated a 9.10% total return over the same 12-month period. During the 12-month period ended December 31, 2017, despite solid economic data in Canada in 2017 that included gains in the labour market, improved manufacturing activity and overall domestic economic activity, performance of Canadian equities did not fully reflect these positive developments. As a result, Canadian equities underperformed U.S. and EAFE stocks as the S&P/TSX rose only 9.1%. Weaker investor confidence in Canadian stocks relative to other markets can be attributed to external factors, such as the risk that the North American Free Trade Agreement may be terminated, and to domestic drivers, such as market fears of overheating in the housing market. However, despite issues at Home Capital Group Inc. and challenges in the real estate market, improvements in economic fundamentals helped the Bank of Canada (the BoC ) change its policy guidance. The BoC increased its policy rate twice in 2017, benefiting the Financials sector as Canadian banks reacted by increasing their mortgage rates. Meanwhile, Energy sector stocks underperformed. Despite an agreement to cut oil production among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and several other

2 countries, oil prices were range-bound for most of 2017 and rallied toward the end of the year. The Materials sector had solid performance as both precious metals and base metals, particularly copper, posted gains. The S&P 500 Index, representing the performance of U.S. equities, registered strong returns over the last 12 months, posting a 21.8% gain in U.S.-dollar terms and 13.6% in Canadian-dollar terms as the loonie appreciated in While the majority of equity sectors posted strong gains, stocks in the Information Technology sector led equities in other industries, adding 38.8%. The Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors continued to demonstrate solid consumer demand, underpinning the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, the U.S. Financials sector benefited from interest rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and progress in U.S. tax legislation. Energy sector stocks underperformed despite extended production cuts by a number of major oil producers. Security selection in the Industrials, Consumer Discretionary and Materials sectors contributed the most to the Portfolio s performance. Individual contributors to performance included holdings in Franco-Nevada Corp., Teck Resources Ltd. and Air Canada. Franco-Nevada Corp. was able to withstand metal price volatility as a result of its diversified production base. Teck Resources Ltd., a diversified metals miner whose three main products are metallurgical coal, copper and zinc, benefited from strong pricing throughout the year. Air Canada had positive financial performance as a result of strong domestic demand coupled with good cost controls and prudent expansion. Security selection in the Energy sector detracted from the Portfolio s performance, as did an underweight allocation to the Health Care sector. Individual detractors from performance included Cenovus Energy Inc. and ATCO Ltd. Cenovus Energy Inc. s focus on oil sands production in a weak oil price environment was not appreciated by investors, while ATCO Ltd. faced challenges from rising interest rates and a weak structures and logistics division. The sub-advisor added a new position in Methanex Corp. for its relatively low valuation and the company s commitment to dividends and share buybacks. Its globally diversified production and transportation facilities allow it to stay low on costs, shifting production to match both inexpensive natural gas supply and global customer demand. The cost of methanol has been driven higher, and continues to see ongoing demand, which should help the company generate significant earnings growth in The Portfolio position in Magna International Inc. was increased for the company s capabilities related to higher-growth areas, such as autonomous driving, vision and sensor systems. The sub-advisor believes that Magna International Inc. is the only company with the ability to design and build complete vehicles at scale on a contract basis, potentially benefiting from new entrants that lack their own manufacturing capabilities. In addition, its stock trades at a significant discount to its sector peers. Holdings in Intact Financial Corp. were eliminated from the Portfolio. In the sub-advisor s view, Intact Financial Corp. has some heightened risks in the near term, including its acquisition of OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd., its initial entrance into the U.S. In addition, Intact Financial Corp. s losses from catastrophic events (flooding and wildfires) has increased, exceeding its forecasts for 2017, which has led to a reduction in earnings. An existing position in The Descartes Systems Group Inc. was trimmed as its stock price rose. It remains an attractive holding in the Portfolio, particularly in light of the potential for increased global trade regulation, from which it would benefit. For information on the Portfolio s longer term performance and composition, please refer to the Past Performance section and Summary of Investment Portfolio section of this report. Recent Developments The sub-advisor has positioned the Portfolio for a strong domestic and global economy in the coming period, with an overweight allocation to cyclical sectors, such as metals and mining, and consumerrelated sectors. Rising interest rates may be a bigger challenge compared to 2017, but the economy should continue to be supported by low inflation, and strong consumer spending and business confidence. The Canadian housing market has moderated and the subadvisor will continue to monitor for any negative effects in the case of a sharper downturn.

3 Related Party Transactions BMO Trust Company, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Montreal ( BMO ), is the trustee (the trustee ) and BPIC is the manager of the Portfolio. From time to time, BPIC may, on behalf of the Portfolio, enter into transactions or arrangements with or involving other members of BMO Financial Group, or certain other persons or companies that are related or connected to the Portfolio (each, a related party and collectively, the related parties ). The purpose of this section is to provide a brief description of any transaction involving the Portfolio and a related party. In each instance where a conflict of interest is identified, it will be referred to the Portfolio s independent review committee (the IRC ). The primary focus of the IRC is to determine whether the proposed action of the Manager in respect of the conflict of interest matter achieves a fair and reasonable result for the Portfolio. The IRC has reviewed the related party relationships described below and has provided a positive recommendation that each relationship achieves a fair and reasonable result for the Portfolio. Sub-advisor BPIC has hired BMO AM Inc., a related party, to provide investment advice and make investment decisions for the Portfolio s investment portfolio. BMO AM Inc. receives a sub-advisory fee based on assets under management, which is paid monthly. BMO AM Inc. is paid by BPIC. Brokerage Commissions The Portfolio pays standard brokerage commissions at market rates to BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., an affiliate of the Manager, for executing a portion of its trades. The brokerage commissions charged to the Portfolio during the periods were as follows: Period ended Period ended Dec. 31, 2017 Dec. 31, 2016 Total Brokerage Commissions Brokerage Fees paid to BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc Wealth Management Fee Units of the Portfolio are only available through the wealth management service offered by BMO Financial Group. The trustee, a related party, and the Manager receive an annual fee from each investor for the wealth management service offered by BMO Financial Group. A tiered schedule is applied to calculate the annual fee for this service. The fee schedule starts at 1.95% and declines to 0.20% (depending on the nature and size of the investor s investment portfolio), and is calculated as a percentage of the assets under management. The actual wealth management fee payable by each investor is set out in BPIC s Investment Management Fee Schedule that is provided to the investor when the investor enters into an investment management agreement with the trustee and BPIC. The wealth management fee is paid directly by the investor to the trustee and the Manager. The trustee may compensate financial institutions and securities registrants within BMO Financial Group for client referrals to the wealth management service. Unitholder Services The Portfolio is provided with certain facilities and services by related parties. BPIC is the registrar of the Portfolio. The trustee and BPIC are paid by the Portfolio for fees relating to the custodial and administrative services they provide, respectively. Administrative services include fund accounting, record keeping and purchases/redemption order processing. The fees charged to the Portfolio during the periods were as follows: Period ended Period ended Dec. 31, 2017 Dec. 31, 2016 Unitholder Services Management Fee There is no management fee charged to the Portfolio. The trustee and the Manager receive an annual wealth management fee from investors for the wealth management service offered by BMO Financial Group.

4 Financial Highlights The following tables show selected key financial information about the Portfolio and are intended to help you understand the Portfolio s financial performance for the periods indicated. Years ended December 31 The Portfolio s Net Assets Per Unit (1) Net assets, beginning of period $ Increase (decrease) from operations: Total revenue $ Total expenses (2) $ (0.01) (0.02) (0.01) (0.01) (0.03) Realized gains (losses) for the period $ Unrealized gains (losses) for the period $ (1.53) Total increase (decrease) from operations (3) $ (0.96) Distributions: From income (excluding dividends) $ 0.01 From dividends $ From capital gains $ Return of capital $ Total Annual Distributions (4) $ Net assets, end of period $ (1) This information is derived from the Portfolio s audited financial statements. (2) Includes commissions and other portfolio transaction costs and withholding taxes. (3) Net assets and distributions are based on the actual number of units outstanding at the relevant time. The increase/decrease from operations is based on the weighted average number of units outstanding over the financial period. This table is not intended to be a reconciliation of beginning to ending net assets per unit. (4) Distributions were paid in cash or reinvested in additional units of the Portfolio, or both. Years ended December 31 Ratios and Supplemental Data Total net asset value (000s) (1) $ 764, , , , ,836 Number of units outstanding (000s) (1) 40,985 41,874 42,263 45,239 47,227 Management expense ratio (2) % Management expense ratio before waivers or management absorptions (2) % Trading expense ratio (3) % Portfolio turnover rate (4) % Net asset value per unit $ (1) This information is provided as at December 31 of the period shown. (2) Management expense ratio is based on total expenses (excluding commissions and other portfolio transaction costs) for the stated period and is expressed as an annualized percentage of daily average net asset value during the period. (3) The trading expense ratio represents total commissions and other portfolio transaction costs expressed as an annualized percentage of daily average net asset value during the period. (4) The portfolio turnover rate indicates how actively the Portfolio s investor manager manages its portfolio investments. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% is equivalent to the Portfolio buying and selling all of the securities in its portfolio once in the course of the year. The higher a portfolio turnover rate in a year, the greater the trading costs payable by the portfolio in the year, and the greater the chance of an investor receiving taxable capital gains in the year. There is not necessarily a relationship between a high turnover rate and the performance of a portfolio.

5 Past Performance General The Portfolio s performance information assumes that all distributions made by the Portfolio in the periods shown were reinvested in additional units of the Portfolio and is based on the net asset value of the Portfolio. The performance information does not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or other optional charges that, if applicable, would have reduced returns or performance. Please remember, how the Portfolio has performed in the past does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future. Year-by-Year Returns The following bar chart shows the performance for each of the financial years shown and illustrates how the performance has changed from year to year. The bar chart shows in percentage terms how an investment made on the first day of each financial year would have increased or decreased by the last day of each financial year. 40% 20% Annual Compound Returns This chart compares the historical annual compound returns of the Portfolio with the S&P/TSX Composite Index. The S&P/TSX Composite Index reflects the price movements of a floating list of companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange that meet Standard & Poor s criteria for inclusion in the index. 1 yr 3 yrs 5 yrs 10 yrs % % % % BMO Private Canadian Core Equity Portfolio S&P/TSX Composite Index The Portfolio s return is after the deduction of expenses, while the benchmark does not include any costs of investing. On March 26, 2012, BMO AM Inc. became the sub-advisor of the Portfolio. + On July 8, 2016, BMO Private Canadian Growth Equity Portfolio merged into the Portfolio, which changed its name to BMO Private Canadian Core Equity Portfolio at the time of the merger. A commentary on the market and/or information regarding the relative performance of the Portfolio as compared to its benchmark can be found under the Results of Operations section of this report. 0% -20% % (1) (2) 2017 (1) On March 26, 2012, BMO AM Inc. became the sub-advisor of the Portfolio. (2) On July 8, 2016, BMO Private Canadian Growth Equity Portfolio merged into the Portfolio, which changed its name to at the time of the merger.

6 Summary of Investment Portfolio as at December 31, 2017 Portfolio Allocation % of Net Asset Value Top 25 Holdings % of Net Asset Value Financials 30.6 Energy 18.0 Industrials 12.9 Materials 11.3 Consumer Discretionary 7.4 Information Technology 5.7 Consumer Staples 4.2 Telecommunication Services 3.3 Utilities 2.5 Cash/Receivables/Payables 2.4 Real Estate 1.7 Total portfolio allocation Issuer Toronto-Dominion Bank, The, 8.6 Canadian National Railway Company 5.9 Manulife Financial Corporation 5.9 Royal Bank of Canada 5.0 Franco-Nevada Corporation 4.8 CGI Group Inc., Class A 4.2 Canadian Natural Resources Limited 4.1 Bank of Nova Scotia, The, 3.6 Dollarama Inc. 3.3 Rogers Communications Inc., Class B 3.3 Onex Corporation 3.2 TransCanada Corporation 3.1 Suncor Energy Inc. 2.8 Cenovus Energy Inc. 2.7 Teck Resources Limited, Class B 2.5 Waste Connections, Inc. 2.5 Cash/Receivables/Payables 2.4 Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Class A 2.3 Agrium Inc. 2.2 Magna International Inc. 2.1 Restaurant Brands International Inc. 2.0 Power Financial Corporation 2.0 Air Canada 1.8 Methanex Corporation 1.7 Canadian Pacific Railway Limited 1.7 Top holdings as a percentage of total net asset value 83.7 Total Net Asset Value $764,874,585 The summary of investment portfolio may change due to the Portfolio s ongoing portfolio transactions. Updates are available quarterly.

7 Manager BMO Private Investment Counsel Inc. 1 First Canadian Place 100 King St. W., 41st Floor Toronto, Ontario M5X 1A1 Trustee BMO Trust Company 1 First Canadian Place 100 King St. W., 41st Floor Toronto, Ontario M5X 1A1 BMO Private Banking is part of BMO Wealth Management and is a brand name under which banking services are offered through Bank of Montreal, investment management services are offered through BMO Private Investment Counsel Inc., a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Bank of Montreal, and estate, trust, planning and custodial services are offered through BMO Trust Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Montreal. BMO Wealth Management is a brand name that refers to Bank of Montreal and certain of its affiliates in providing wealth management products and services. This document may contain forward-looking statements relating to anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts but instead represent our beliefs regarding future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that predictions and other forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate. We caution readers of this document not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from management expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to market and general economic conditions, interest rates, regulatory and statutory developments, the effects of competition in the geographic and business areas in which the Portfolio may invest and the risks detailed from time to time in the simplified prospectus of the BMO Private Portfolios. We caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and that when relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to investing in the Portfolio, investors and others should carefully consider these factors, as well as other uncertainties and potential events, and the inherent uncertainty of forward-looking statements. Due to the potential impact of these factors, BMO Private Investment Counsel Inc. does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any intention or obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. BMO (M-bar roundel symbol), BMO Private Banking registered trademarks, and BMO Wealth Management trademark are owned by Bank of Montreal, used under licence. For more information please call